...trust anyone who publicly wraps themselves in the flag of altruism?

I no longer do. It's nearly universal that someone who makes a big virtuous public noise about their motivations, is secretly motivated by personal self-interest, and is merely concealing that personal self-interest behind a false appearance of public spirit.

That signature twenty-first-century evil continues to destroy people's confidence in public things and to render the public record contemptible and irrelevant.

The way I see it, a good act is still a good act regardless of what motivates it.I don't have to trust the person who does it, but I'll give them some credit for choosing to do something helpful, even if they only do it to promote themselves. After all, they have plenty of non-helpful alternatives.

I know people who kiss ass to get to the top and act phoney and helpful but still manage to not be a truly amoral human being. I mean I don't care, I wouldn't be friends with them but I wouldn't really care. There's a lot of selfish people out there but eh, what can you do. It's not like they're killing puppies.